To Hunt for Prey
by Purin-chan
Summary: The hunt doesn't stop when the prey is caught... XL, as always.


**Author's note**: This one is a bit lime-y. Please don't read it if you are underage...or at least, read it with discretion. (And don't sue me for it. I'm a broke college student.)

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To Hunt for Prey

There. Everything was in place. She clapped some dust off her hands as she admired her handiwork. Now all she had to do was bring the target here, and then she would have it.

After several long months of solitude, she would finally have it.

- - -

He shook his head as he followed the path of destruction. His master would not be happy with this. He kicked a bit of rubble out of his path as he looked down the road. Who would dare--

He couldn't help but grin a bit. "Ah, that makes sense."

Lina sat on top of a singed log in the center of a black, charred pit, one which she obviously was responsible for. Her chin was propped on her folded hands; she had taken the opportunity to get comfortable while waiting.

"You're finally here."

He raised an eyebrow. "You were looking for me?"

"Couldn't you tell?" she asked, gesturing with a hand at what she had done. "I did this just for you."

"Hmm," he began, interested. "And what did I do, might I ask, to deserve your attention?"

She shook a finger at him. "Not what you did. What you are _going_ to do."

He smirked. "Oh? And what made you think that I would be willing to acquiesce to your request?"

The confident grin that emerged on her lips suggested that she had been expecting this question, and Xelloss was rather impressed by how well she had thought all of this through. She placed one hand on her hip and tossed her hair with the other before saying, "Easy. I've had you trapped since long ago."

He chuckled. She was right--he had been entranced by her for a very long time. It was simple to explain, too. He was drawn to power; she had power, though not in the same sense that he had power. Her power was something he could not begin to fathom--it was that something that allowed her to overcome the otherworldly obstacles that were strewn in her path. As much as he tried to solve the key algorithm to her success, he could not. All he could do was desire her, and this he did.

But she overlooked one tiny little detail.

He advanced towards her, staring her down with an open pair of violet eyes. He caught a flicker of scare in her eyes and grinned. "I think you are slightly mistaken, Lina-san," he said, heavily placing one foot in front of the other. Her eyes narrowed as she returned his stare with one of equal intensity. Then he stopped before her, looking down on her with a coy little grin on his face. "_I_ am the one who has _you_ trapped."

She scoffed at the comment, but he expected that much. He reached out to touch her face; she backed away. His eyes reverted into upturned crescents at her response. "You see?" he cheerfully concluded, raising a finger informatively.

Lina was starting to get a little worried. Her calculations were slightly off; she hadn't expected him to be able to take control of the situation so easily. However, she was never one to go down without a fight. She fixed her stance and took up her usual cocky attitude. "I see," she began with a fiendish smirk, "that you need a little bit of persuasion."

He curiously raised his eyebrow as she slipped her gloves off of her hands and tucked them away in her breast band, which served as a substitute for pockets. _Cute_, he remarked mentally as the edges of his lips curved upward in amusement. But then she advanced on him, sliding her hands up his chest and around his neck, pulling him down to her. His eyes shot open, and he could only stare dumbly as she snuck up on him and bit the tip of his ear.

He shivered, caught in a trance as she grinned devilishly and licked her lips. _Now this is unexpected_...

She slid her hand down his arm and took his hand, pulling him along behind her. He followed obediently, curious to see where she wanted to take him and what she had in store. _I might as well play along_, he thought.

Before long, they came upon a small cabin carefully hidden in the woods. He wondered who had built it and for what purpose (he also wondered why he never knew it was there), but he didn't have long to contemplate the answers before Lina was behind him, goading him through the open door. He yielded to her demands and soon found himself enclosed in a rather dimly lit room; the only source of light was the small rays of sunlight that seeped through the cracks between logs.

He didn't need to see what was there in order to ascertain her goals. She snuck up from behind, slipping her hands beneath his shirt and up his chest, tracing the sharp outlines she found there as she puffed a breath of hot air into his back. He remained still as her hands wandered over his body, but caught her hand as it began to slip down his pants. He turned around and pulled her towards him, catching her other hand in a solid grasp as well. "I said it once already, Lina-san. _You_ are trapped."

Lina shut her eyes tightly as his mouth enclosed hers. She tried to pry her wrists from his grasp, but the difference in physical strength was too readily apparent. She gasped as he snuck his tongue into her mouth, shivering when she felt his fangs graze the surface of her own tongue. Then he pulled away and spun her around roughly, pinning her face down onto the rug he figured she had set there for this occasion.

Lina tensed and tried to prepare herself mentally for what he had in store for her. Her heart was pounding against the wooden floorboards, and she swore she could hear the echo reverberating in that enclosed space like a drum. She felt his fingers trace a line up and down her spine, heard him make little pondering noises as he contemplated what he should do with her, felt the warmth of his body on top of hers. Her senses were so overwhelmed that she could hardly breathe.

And then he leaned in close and whispered in her ear, "Is this what you wanted?"

Lina slowly opened her eyes, keeping herself from making eye contact with the mazoku that was clearly seducing her. "Yes…and no."

The ambiguous answer caught his attention. "What do you mean?" he inquired.

She swallowed. "Yes, I wanted this." She paused. "But not with you."

His smile faded, and he took on a more serious demeanor. Naturally, he guessed, "Gourry-san?"

To his surprise, she shook her head. "It would never be perfect with him," she explained, a melancholy tone to her soft voice. "And Zel…well, he's too close of a friend."

The pieces of the puzzle were beginning to fall into place. A truly diabolical grin appeared on his face, a terrifying sight that was enhanced by the subtle lighting of the cabin. He stroked her cheek with a finger to get her attention, and she unwillingly made eye contact with his dark, violet eyes.

"Well, well, Lina-san. I'm flattered to know that I'm the perfect candidate," he exclaimed with an obnoxious sort of glee. She grimaced; he grinned. Then he continued, "So flattered, that I will do my best to make this work for you."

Then, to her surprise, he vanished. She sat up slowly and glanced around, wondering what he meant by his words. "Maybe it was just a bluff," she told herself quietly, but somewhere deep down, she knew that she had walked blindly into his trap, caught in a living hell.

Lina could only sit and wonder about what she had gotten herself into.

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**Author's note**: Hm, I'm thinking it deserves a follow-up story. What do you think?


End file.
